NFL Picks Week 9: Tips and Predictions for Spread Picks and Over-Unders

The idea has been floating around for a while, and as NFL teams hit or approach the halfway point, it is time to start giving the idea of the New England Patriots going undefeated some consideration. 

We are not saying that it's going to happen or that it's likely. But as the Patriots prepare to host the Washington Redskins in Week 9 with their 7-0 record, it does at least look possible.

The defending Super Bowl champions have been able to play the "us against the world" card throughout the season, going back to the Deflategate controversy.

That issue relates to quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, and the theory that has been discussed on sports-talk radio and other media venues is that the combination of Brady, the Patriots and their coaching staff want to beat everybody they play and have a pristine record when they go to play in Super Bowl 50.

That was the case in 2007, but the Patriots lost the title game that year to the New York Giants. The motivation to go undefeated may be why the Patriots are favored by 14.5 points over the Washington Redskins this week, according to Odds Shark. From this corner, the whole "we want to go undefeated" rap seems ridiculous, and it's one that has no bearing on the Patriots' mindset.

Brady confirmed that when he went on radio station WEEI-AM's Dennis and Callahan show and explained that the undefeated record was not a motivation for him and his teammates (h/t CSNNE.com).

The Patriots have been playing sensational football, with the the offense piling up yards (fifth in the league) and points, and the 12th-ranked defense playing better than expected.

But a 14.5-point spread seems way out of line this week. The Redskins are surprisingly competitive with a 3-4 record, and they are coming off their bye week. They have not lost any game by more than 14 points this season, and their average margin of defeat in their four losses is 9.5 points.

The Redskins have been outscored by 20 points this season. That's less than three points per game. They have gotten surprising play from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is completing 68.7 percent of his passes, and he has thrown for more than 241 yards per game.

Can Cousins lead the Redskins to a win in Foxborough? Highly doubtful. However, we expect them to keep their record of no losses by more than 14 points intact against the Patriots.

Game	Line	Over-Under	Selection
Cleveland at Cincinnati	Cincinnati -11.5	46	Cincinnati; Over
Miami at Buffalo	Buffalo -3	44.5	Buffalo; Over
Green Bay at Carolina	No line	--	Carolina
St. Louis at Minnesota	Minnesota -2.5	30.5	Minnesota; Under
Washington at New England	New England -14.5	52	Washington; Under
Tennessee at New Orleans	No line	--	New Orleans
Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets	No line	--	N.Y. Jets
Oakland at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh -4.5	47.5	Oakland; Over
Atlanta at San Francisco	Atlanta -5	45	Atlanta: Under
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay	N.Y. Giants -1	47.5	Tampa Bay; Over
Denver at Indianapolis	No line	--	Denver
Philadelphia at Dallas	Philadelphia -2.5	44.5	Philadelphia; Under
Chicago at San Diego	San Diego -4	49.5	San Diego; Under

Chargers ready to take out a season of frustration on the Bears

At the start of the season, it seemed reasonable that the San Diego Chargers would challenge the Denver Broncos for first place in the AFC West. The Broncos were 9-7 a year ago, and they supplemented their offense by drafting explosive running back Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin in the first round.

The idea was that if they could give quarterback Philip Rivers a consistent running game to go with his prolific passing, the Chargers might be piling up points every week.

That's a nice theory, but Gordon has not been an impact player for the Chargers. While Rivers is averaging 329.0 yards per game, completing 69.8 percent of his passes and has an 18-7 TD-interception ratio, the Chargers have fallen to 2-6.

They have had a number of close and painful losses, and they easily could have turned defeat into victory in games against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. 

The Chargers are at home on Monday night against the struggling Chicago Bears (2-6). While the records of the two teams indicate the game is relatively even, it really isn't. The Bears suffered a big blow in their Week 8 loss to Minnesota when star running back Matt Forte suffered an MCL injury, and they will miss his running and pass-catching ability quite a bit in this game.

The Bears struggle to pressure opposing quarterbacks, which means Rivers should have time to pick and choose his targets here. 

The Chargers are four-point home favorites, and while they have a slew of significant injuries, we expect them to roll by the Bears and win this game by at least two touchdowns.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

Falcons and Niners struggling to find their scoring touch

After reeling off wins in their first five games, the Atlanta Falcons have lost two of their last three. Their Week 8 overtime loss at home to the Tampa Bay Bucs indicates that the Falcons must rediscover the offensive prowess they had at the start of the season.

Atlanta averaged 32.4 points per game through their first five games, but they have taken a nosedive since then. They are averaging 17 points per game over the last three weeks.

The Falcons go to the West Coast to face the 49ers, a team that played well in its season opener but has dropped six of seven games since then.

The offense for the Niners is not firing. They have been held to single digits in four of their last six games.

Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is under fire, and a Fox Sports report in late October indicated he didn't have much support among his teammates. 

Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News wrote a story countering that point, but the bottom line is that the San Francisco offense is struggling to get into the end zone.

With the total for this game listed at 45 points, we see this game as an easy under. We would be surprised if more than 38 points were scored here.